2016: The Year We Learn to Sit on Our Hands

I think I have been having this sort of gut check lately. You know the one. Like in the movie Jerry McGuire when he sits down and writes out his gut feelings about sports agents and the way they represent their clients and exposes the weaknesses and self centered behavior of his industry. He lays it all out there and hits “send” basically to the entire company.

And then comes the awkward moment when he has to face all of his colleagues face to face. It’s a great scene. Even in the movie you can feel the tension and the “did you seriously just do that?” feeling floating around.

That’s the kind of gut check feeling I have had over the past few weeks and months, like I was fundamentally missing something about how I was approaching my job and my industry. That feeling of “there’s a better way” maybe. It’s hard to put my finger on sometimes but let me try to explain.

This Cereal is Apart of A Balanced Breakfast

Does anyone remember this from cereal commercials? Maybe they still do it I don’t know but I always thought it was funny. A bowl of sugar held together by some kind of chemical is a part of a good breakfast that includes orange juice, toast, and eggs or something. Just be honest and call cereal what it actually is: breakfast dessert…

I love this cartoon. That’s a lot of traders I see. We have no balance to our trading diet and we shake uncontrollably while either in a losing trade or waiting for the next one while making excuses for why we have to be in the market or why we have to hold on longer. It’s just a case of the shakes, from WANTING TRADING TOO MUCH and usually nothing more. Where does this come from?

Do You Want to be Right? Or do You Want to be Profitable?

I have to give credit for this statement to my friend Matt Lacoco. If he printed his own money and had his own country I think this would be their motto. With that said, it’s probably the most important question in all of life, business, and trading. There are two meanings to “being right” that I want you consider with me.

1). Being right about an individual trade- This is pretty obvious. Most big losers that I or any trader I have ever worked with have been because of this. There is some selfish motivation about being wrong, admitting we are wrong, or owning we can be wrong. It’s a big problem in all areas of life, not just trading.

2). Being right about our approach- Very many traders I have seen (me included again) have a rigidity of approach. It sounds important but it really comes down to we just can’t stop doing what we feels good to us. Do we “like” trading? Then we will do whatever we can to take trades every day and get our feeling needs met, even if we know it doesn’t actually work.

Both of these being right-isms will crush you in the long run. The race is not won by those that are right all the time. It’s won by those that stop trying to be right. It’s so deep it may take the rest of my life to grasp this concept but it’s true.

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all. Ecclesiastes 10:11

So how do we combat this?

I have three suggestions for you. Here they are:

1). Find a way to trade that will allow you to sit on your hands more- If you don’t have this already, I am teaching a course that starts on January 29th that will give you this structure and show you how to make 2016 a calmer year in your trading. You can find more information here www.fxinventorytrading.com

2). Stop thinking that “the grass is greener on the other side”- Maybe just take a few weeks or months or some period of time and stop trying to think about trading as a “full time job”. One of the guys that has been influential in my trading journey told me that a long time ago and as you can see, I didn’t listen 🙂 Just remember this: there is a time for everything, maybe now is the time where you appreciate your job and do it well and at the same time you learn how to use the markets as a vehicle to grow money and nothing else. No ego, no “I want this or that”, no shady motivations. Learn how to sit on your hands and let the money do the work.

3). Put trading in its proper place- Make trading, or some other second job, work for you this year. Make it a part of a well balanced plan, but not the whole thing.

If we try to make trading the focus of our year, we will probably end up like Calvin in the cartoon above with nothing but a case of the shakes and making excuses for our behavior.

I am on a bit of a mission this year. I want to help change the way people view trading and help to put it into proper balance with the rest of life and in doing so, I pretty much guarantee you will be more profitable and like it more. Here’s where you can find more info on what I want to do in 2016 to help people sit on their hands a little more…

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2 thoughts on “2016: The Year We Learn to Sit on Our Hands”

Great piece. I look forward to being a full fleged entreprenuer with trading as just one of my ventures. This speaks to the exact lifestyle I want to create. I do not want to be in front of the screen all day. I want my money to work for me.